Nala secures $50 million credit line to expand stablecoin payment network

Nala, the Tanzanian-founded fintech building stablecoin-powered cross-border payment rails, has secured up to $50 million in credit financing from private credit firm Liquidity as demand rises for faster business payments between emerging markets, Europe and the United States.

According to a statement by Nala, the facility begins with an initial $25 million tranche and can scale to $50 million or more through Mars Growth Capital, a joint venture between private credit firm Liquidity and Japan-based lender MUFG Bank.

The funding will help Nala pre-fund transfers, expand payment corridors, and support larger enterprise clients using its infrastructure for collections and payouts.

The deal reflects a broader shift among fintechs processing large payment volumes. Instead of raising fresh equity, firms are turning to credit facilities to finance liquidity-intensive operations while avoiding shareholder dilution.

Nala noted in the same statement that it still holds more than half the capital from its $40 million equity raise in 2024, allowing the debt financing to fund expansion rather than support its balance sheet.

“At some point our business was more than doubling every other quarter,” founder and chief executive Benjamin Fernandes noted in a statement on Thursday. “We grew faster than we could handle pre-funding for single-direction payments.”

Founded in 2017 as a remittance app serving the African diaspora, Nala has expanded into business payments through Rafiki, its enterprise infrastructure platform. The company says its network connects more than 249 banks and 26 mobile money services across 16 countries.

Interest in stablecoin-based payment systems has grown as businesses look for faster and cheaper ways to move money across borders. The demand has been strongest in emerging markets, where bank transfer delays and foreign exchange costs remain high.

Liquidity said the financing was structured around Nala’s real-time payment flows and liquidity requirements rather than a conventional venture debt model.

“Our team structured a facility that accounts for Nala’s compliant stablecoin rails and rapid growth in emerging market corridors,” said Paul Brodie, Liquidity’s global head of investments.

Nala did not disclose transaction volumes or revenue figures. The company said several enterprise contracts are expected to go live later this year, pointing to growing corporate demand for stablecoin-based settlement networks.